Aaron Beasley turned in his most productive season a year ago and the Tennessee linebacker is drawing national attention ahead of his senior campaign.
Beasley was one of 85 defensive players across college football and one of 12 in the SEC on the Chuck Bednarik Award watchlist on Monday.
The award is given annually to the College Defensive Player of the Year. Semifinalists for the award will be named on Nov. 13 and the list will be narrowed down to three on Nov. 28. The winner will be announced on Dec. 7 on the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show.
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Beasley, who was named to the All-SEC Third Team last month, is expected to be one of the anchors for the Vols' defense in 2023 after racking up a team-high 76 tackles, 13 tackles for loss and three sacks last season. He was tied for sixth in the conference in TFLs.
In Tennessee's 31-14 win over Clemson in the Orange Bowl, Beasley accounted for 12 tackles and a pair of sacks. His four TFLs tied a program bowl record set by Corey Terry in the 1997 Citrus Bowl vs. Northwestern and Reggie McKenzie in the 1984 Sun Bowl against Maryland.
"(Beasley) is one of those guys that always feels like he has to earn the respect from everybody before he's going to step out and lead," Linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary said. "We are asking him to come out of his shell a little bit. He's done that in his own way. He's never going to be the loudest guy in the room or be very boisterous but you can see that especially with the younger guys gravitate to him and really take heed to what he's saying when he speaks."
Once an area of concern, Tennessee's linebacking corps enters the season with experience and depth.
A two-time captain that played four seasons at BYU, Keenan Pili was one of the Vols' biggest transfer portal additions last spring while sophomores Elijah Herring and Kalib Perry as well as freshman Arion Carter are expected to contribute.
MORE FROM VOLREPORT: Three predictions for Tennessee football's defense in 2023
"Every coach, I think if you asked them what their number one goal is would say quality depth," Jean-Mary said. "When you don't even have the bodies to go out there and compete, it's hard. I say it all the time that the best coach in the world is competition. You're going to get the most out of guys if they know that guy behind them is nipping at their heels and is able to play at a high level. With the depth that we're building, we are going to be able to play multiple guys."
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